Broomielaw Bridge

Mitchell Library, Stratten's Glasgow

The Broomielaw Bridge, designed by Thomas Telford, was opened in 1836 as a replacement for an earlier bridge on the same site. Also known as Glasgow Bridge or Telford's Bridge, it consisted of seven arches built on piled foundations.

As can be seen from this illustration from c 1890, the bridge had to carry a considerable amount of traffic across the River Clyde from Jamaica Street to Bridge Street. In addition, the arches were too narrow for many of the new, larger ships coming up the river and the supports suffered from scouring. In 1895 work began on replacing it with a wider bridge which opened in 1899.

By public demand, the new bridge retained many of Telford's features, including the stonework. It is now known as the Jamaica Street or Glasgow Bridge.

Reference: Mitchell Library, GC f 914.1435 STR

Reproduced with the permission of Glasgow City Council, Libraries Information and Learning